Belmont GC, Part Of The West Coast Golf Group, Will Be Closed Until Next Summer

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Tee times in Langley figure to be tough to come by the next few months as another area course is forced to close temporarily due to the TransMountain pipeline expansion project.

In this episode of the ModGolf Podcast, Colin Weston chats with Billy Brown, Founder and CEO of The Golf Sanctuary in Nashville Tennessee.

Brown saw an opportunity in the golf industry to offer a new and enhanced membership experience, saying, "When demand is greater than supply, there is a business opportunity. I found one in The Golf Sanctuary".

View Of The 13th Hole At Bald Eagle From 2019 - Image Courtesy Facility

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It’s hard to argue that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a boon to the golf industry. Golf courses have never been busier and prime time weekend tee times have become something of a precious commodity.

Golf has undergone a renaissance of sorts as the pandemic brought new people to the game and those who already played logged even more rounds. 

It’s been a great time to be in the golf business pretty much everywhere but the border community of Point Roberts, Wash. The golf boom never materialized at Bald Eagle Golf Club, which was forced to close for more than two years during the pandemic due to border restrictions.

Golf Industry Guru Gurus, Scott Masse (L) And James Cronk (R) - Image Courtesy GIG Website 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Golf is not only a hard game, it’s also an extremely difficult business. Think about it. There’s a lot more to operating a golf course than simply ringing in green fees. There’s the food and beverage side of the operation. There’s the agronomy side of the business. There’s staff to recruit, manage and retain in today’s challenging environment and so much more.

“It’s really complicated,” says James Cronk. “As a manger, a general manager, as an owner, you have to have some understanding of how to run a restaurant, how to grow grass, how to sell and market, how to deal with human resources.”  

Cronk and partner Scott Masse have started a business designed to help golf course operators and their staffs. Golf Industry Guru is now in its second year of operation and has close to 100 clients (golf courses) signed up. They make up what Cronk likes to call GIG Nation.

In this episode of The ModGolf Podcast show creator and host, Colin Weston, talks with Nick Longley, co-founder at Inrange Golf.

Inrange is a company that,  "...uses technology, combined with the more informal environment of the range to open up the game of golf. To make practice fun again. To bring in a whole new generation of players. To redefine what 'playing golf' actually looks like."

In this episode of The ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host, Colin Weston, chats with Ty DeLavallade the founder and president of Deuce, an upscale golf and cigar accessory company that can design golf accessories for every golfer.

"I did some research to find out what other black-owned businesses are out there. To be fair, I didn't find any...

The 14th Hole At Bear Mountain In Victoria Is Beautiful & Scary At The Same Time - BC Golf Photo 

By John Gordon, Courtesy Golf Canada

Who was the first person to be intimidated by golf? Hint: It wasn’t you.

Little-known fact: He was the second person to take up the game about, oh, 600 years ago in Scotland.

“Och, Geordie, I could never hit that stone as far as you can with your shepherd’s crook. Look, it’s almost in the rabbit hole in one stroke! Why are you walking so fast? I can’t find my stone! Who is that behind us?”

Versions of those plaintive bleats have echoed down through history and continue to be heard today, in one fashion or another.

As we all know is getting good at golf is hard. Figuring out how to make it fun and engaging for kids is even harder. 

In this episode of the ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host, Colin Weston, speaks with Operation 36 co-founder Matt Reagan about the program that is introducing kids to the game with a variable distance gameplay format where students need to shoot 36 over nine holes in order to graduate up to the next level.

In the second episode of season 12, ModGolf creator and show host, Colin Weston, speaks with Donnie Dotson, Founder and CEO of Carry Golf Investments who shared how he's applying tech startup lessons learned to elite athletes.

In the first episode of season 12 for the ModGolf Podcast, show host and creator, Colin Weston, speaks with Jordan Lunetta, Co-Founder Of Odin Golf. 

Jordan shares how they apply a tech startup approach to disrupt the traditional golf product space, are early adopters experimenting with NFTs and much more.

In this episode of the ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host, Colin Weston, speaks with Alyson Ramsey Johnson, CEO at Gilly Group and Co-Founder at White Tee Partners.

"I always knew I wanted to be a boss. I didn't know of what but I had that calling to want to help brands and businesses, create these phenomenal experiences for their customers through golf, whether that was sponsorship activation, hospitality or promoting their brands. So I knew I needed to get more of a differentiator for myself in the golf industry, especially as a woman."

 - Alyson Ramsey Johnson

At The 2022 PGA Show in Orlando ModGolf Podcast creator Colin Weston had the opportunity to reconnect with Jim Beatty at The Diversity and Inclusion Forum, which he was co-hosting.

Jim Beatty wears several hats, including Executive Editor for the African American Golfer’s Digest (www.africanamericangolfersdigest.com), President of Jim Beatty Golf Ventures (www.jimbeattygolfventures.com) and Chair of The We Are Golf, Recreational Play Subcommittee, Diversity Task Force (www.wearegolf.org).

ModGolf Podcast creator and host, Colin Weston, recently returned from the 2022 PGA Show in Orlando, FLA after missing the event last year due to COVID restrictions. He found a slightly different but still extremely informative and enjoyable show presentation on this visit and put together this blog to share with us about his observations and experiences at 'golf's biggest industry event'. - editor

The ModGolf Podcast at The 2022 PGA Show

Contributed by Colin Weston/ModGolf (reposted with permission)

It's been two long years since I last attended The PGA Show in Orlando and although I was apprehensive about getting on a plane from Vancouver with the Omicron variant still swirling around us, I'm glad I made the decision to go.

After hundreds of Zoom video calls over the past 24 months has pushed me to the point of burnout, reconnecting with old golf industry friends and meeting some new ones face-to-face was exactly the medicine my spirit needed.

So here's a recap of my eight days in central Florida and my takeaways from golf's biggest industry event.

BC Golf Senior Contributor Brad Ziemer recently spoke with Michelle Collens who has sat on the British Columbia Golf's board since 2013, the last two years as President...

Motorized carts have ferried golfers from hole to hole for 50 years, but more players these days are walking their rounds, and some courses have shunned carts entirely - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski

By Bill Pennington/NYTimes

There is a new movement afoot in recreational golf: walking.

In swelling numbers nationwide, golfers are spurning the motorized golf cart — a standard-bearer of American golf rounds for more than 50 years — and instead choosing to stride or stroll from shot to shot.

It has contributed to a substantial rise in rounds played and spawned another novel phenomenon: The verifiable notion that golf, when a round is walked, is exercise that can supplement a fitness regimen since golfers routinely burn 700 calories or more in an outing that can traverse up to six miles.

In the latest episode of the ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host Colin Weston talks to Golf YouTuber Matt Fisher, creator of Mr. Short Game. Fisher discusses his outlook on he approaches making his popular videos as well as his philosophy on what he feels people should expect from his work. 

"My approach to video creation has three components: I want to give something for free, whether it be a tip or a drill. I want it to be entertaining because I hate to be bored. Lastly I want people to connect and get to know me so we can build a community together." - Matt Fisher

To open Season 10 of The ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host Colin Weston decided to shake things up by doing something he'd been planning for awhile. And that thing is to have Colin step aside from the microphone so that a guest host can take over the controls of the ship.

In this episode former guest Dr. Greta Anderson takes over the hosting duties for an engaging conversation with GolfHers Founder Kelly Hunt to learn about her golf entrepreneurship journey to inspire women to build a career in the golf industry.

In the latest episode of the ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host Colin Weston talks to former PGA TOUR regular, BC's Richard Zokol. 

Nicknamed 'Disco Dick' after playing a 1982 PGA TOUR event wearing a Sony Walkman, two-time tour winner Zokol joined Colin to share how listening to music on course to calm his hyperactive mind helped sow the seeds that led to the creation of MindTRAK Golf.

In the latest episode of the ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host Colin Weston talks to ESPN 920 Radio Show Host, writer and media personality Keith Stewart in a high-energy conversation that spans the spectrum from humourous storytelling and community building to an approach to life that shapes his business methodology.

Fees Have Been Set And Reservation Requests Are Now Being Taken At Newly Refurbished And Re-Opening Sagebrush Golf Club - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Its new website is up and running and Sagebrush Golf Club has begun taking reservation requests as the Merritt-area course prepares to re-open in mid-July following a seven-year hibernation. 

Rather than tee times, Sagebrush will be offering what it is calling ‘Day Adventures.’ For $275, visitors can play as much golf as they like. They’ll also get on-course refreshments and lunch at the club’s Hideout retreat located between the 12th and 13th holes, where they can even do a little fly-fishing.